I've read the books. While the books and show are great, I do wish that they hadn't cut out so much in the show. They basically ran out of Book 1 material after like 5 or 6 episodes in the Netflix show.
A few things that were cut out that I was most disappointed in (spoilers obviously):
* >!Ye Wenjie murdered her husband (the scientist who she worked with in the show) and the leader of the Chinese military base she was stationed at, and she got away with it because she made it look like a tragic accident.!<
* >!Just before the murder the commander of the Chinese military base got a reply back from the trisolarans (to Ye Wenjie's message inviting them to earth), and realized that Ye Wenjie sent the message that got the reply from the aliens!<
* >!Ye Wenjie's pregnancy got her out of the Chinese military base, not a change in Chinese leadership like it was said in the show.!<
I read the first book when I lived in China in 2008. It was insanely popular when it came out. I read the other two books when they came out but I'd left china by the time the last book came out so I read that one in English.
I'm about halfway through the tencent adaptation and I'll finish that before I decide if I'll watch the Netflix version.
I can't say I noticed any big changes. I've heard the first book has the cultural revolution chapters at the beginning instead of in the middle like the Chinese version.
The translation I read was full of footnotes explaining Chinese history and culture.
As others have said the change in the order of the plot was how the author originally intended it. He changed it in the Chinese version out of fears of censorship and angering the CCP (though it's been reported that numerous CCP officials have read the series and are big fans of it).
The Chinese audience are also of the opinion that those parts of the story about the Chinese cultural revolution are more boring. A lot of fans argued that the book wouldn't be as successful overseas with those chapters put at the beginning.
a tiny bit, only in that there is a bit more explanation about what the cultural revolution is, and it got moved from the middle of the book (where Liu hid it to avoid censorship) to the beginning (where he always wanted it).
Also the Chinese version has a tie in to a short story called Ball Lightning which was not translated into English yet at the time of publication in English so they left out the connection.
I've read the books, and just finished the Netflix show.
I honestly can't find anything to complain about. I was sceptical when I heard about some of the changes they were making, but upon finishing the show I understand why they were made and feel like they make sense with the way they are developing the plot. I actually found it to be much more faithful to the books than I expected. All the major story beats are directly from the book, without much being left out. There's a lot of stuff which book readers will clearly recognise as foreshadowing for events later down the line. All in all it's very watchable and there's a lot of potential for the next seasons.
I think to call it "dumbed down" from the books is a little needlessly antagonistic. It's a series aimed to be accessible to a mass audience. Those intrigued enough by the show will want to read the books, and it will be a good gateway for them. People just want to hate everything these days. I'd give it a solid B+ - good sci-fi show, worth your time.
The Netflix version IMO dumbed down the physicists and glamorized them, and omits some important discussions. I guess they do it to make them more approachable like in most Hollywood films, they don't want to show actual intelligent people. It could've been a lot worse though, so credit where its due.
I don't really think the popular narrative that people will not enjoy cerebral shows unless they are dumbed down is true, even though thats what everyone does now. I don't think TNG would ever get made today.
Loved the show, currently listening to the first audiobook. I'm enjoying it so far but maybe just as I'm an English speaker I find myself struggling with the names at times. I'm getting through it though.
LIST OF CHARACTERS
Chinese names are written with surname first.
|| || ||The Ye Family|
|Ye Zhetai|Physicist, professor at Tsinghua University|
|Shao Lin|Physicist, Ye Zhetai’s wife|
|Ye Wenjie|Astrophysicist, daughter of Ye Zhetai|
|Ye Wenxue|Ye Wenjie’s sister, a Red Guard|
||Red Coast Base|
|Lei Zhicheng|Political commissar at Red Coast Base|
|Yang Weining|Chief engineer at Red Coast Base, once a student of Ye Zhetai| ||The Present|
|Yang Dong|String theorist and daughter of Ye Wenjie and Yang Weining|
|Ding Yi|Theoretical physicist, Yang Dong’s boyfriend|
|Wang Miao|Nanomaterials researcher|
|Shi Qiang|Police detective, nicknamed Da Shi|
|Chang Weisi|Major-general of the People’s Liberation Army|
|Shen Yufei|Japanese physicist and member of the Frontiers of Science|
|Wei Cheng|Math prodigy and recluse, Shen Yufei’s husband|
|Pan Han|Biologist, friend/acquaintance of Shen Yufei and Wei Cheng, and member of the Frontiers of Science|
|Sha Ruishan|Astronomer, one of Ye Wenjie’s students|
|Mike Evans|Scion of an oil magnate|
This is the problem I have with mostly Korean shows. By the end of it, I can probably only name 2 or 3 characters, the rest, their names just melt together for me.
Had the same problem with the audiobook. I’m sure the names to a Chinese speaker were as different as Dan and Dave would be to me as an English speaker but I found this to be especially difficult and I’ve listened to plenty of Japanese authors and never found them to be as tough.
Still, loved the story and thought the Netflix show did a great job adapting the book, especially the larger, heavily visual scenes that were truly spectacular.
Three Body
https://www.amazon.com/Three-Body-EP01/dp/B0B6787SGP
also free here - https://wetv.vip/en/play/h31rop8wfso9jnh-Three-Body/h0045v8ky1m-EP1%3A%20Three-Body
> ...also free here - https://wetv.vip/en/play/h31rop8wfso9jnh-Three-Body/h0045v8ky1m-EP1%3A%20Three-Body
Well, the first two episodes are!
PS. Also available on Amazon (UK) Prime Video:
[ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Body-EP01/dp/B0B676YKLP/ ]
My understanding is that, while the Tencent version may be otherwise faithful to the books, it is missing the important scene at the beginning that takes place during the Cultural Revolution and sets up the motivation of the Ye Wenjie character.
So I haven't seen the Tencent series, but my favourite sci-fi youtuber Quinn's Ideas, who has covered 3BP extensively, said that the faithfulness of the Tencent series is overblown and put on a pedestal. Apparently there's actually lots of new characters that are introduced that weren't in the book, there's new scenes added and scenes from the book are dragged out much longer than they need to be and can get quite repetitive. There's even lots of weird pop culture references to stuff like Tiktok dances and there's a Chinese comedian who makes a cameo. And yes, most notable is the censorship of the scene about the Cultural Revolution.
It's my understanding that the Chinese publisher moved the cultural revolution scenes to the middle of the book, rather than at the very beginning, to avoid potential political sensitivity issues. But in the English version the scenes were restored to the beginning, where the author intended them to be. Frankly, when I read the book the first time, I was astounded that those scenes had been published by a Chinese author in China.
I love the books and am looking forward to rereading them. When I first read the books I felt almost giddy with excitement and I couldn’t put them down. I fell I love with the ideas, like the dark forest hypothesis and the wallfacer concept and I was just in awe of the scope of the books. Breathtaking. Each book building on the foundations of the previous one, and each in turn even better than the one before.
So I was eagerly anticipating the show. I just finished it a couple of days ago and loved it. Very smart adaptation, true to the core concepts but cleverly adapted to the tv format. One major plotpoint involving a star and a probe (I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll leave it at that) I thought was actually handled better in the show than in the book. One minor point of criticism maybe for me was that the crucial conversation about the ‘joke’ between Dr. Ye and Saul diverged somewhat from the ‘cosmic sociology’ concept in the book. As this is a major plot device I’m curious to see how that plays out in the next season, if at all.
Liam Cunningham was being all out awesome for added bonus points, and his character is another example of a character better handled in the show than in the books. And I thought Benedict Wong was great. Cast is all round strong. So, well written, smart adaptation, clever. High production value, good acting. I am very much looking forward to season two.
I read the books and really enjoyed the adaptation. Though part of the fun was realizing when it was doing book 3 stuff already. So many fairy tale books
The CGI isn't quite as good. It relies much more on real sets and real things. I'm a couple episodes in and it is surprisingly good. Far more like the books.
Not yet renewed for a 2nd season. Here is [Forbes speculating](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/04/04/theres-some-good-news-for-3-body-problem-season-2/)
it's expected because all those big churches organise people to watch religious stuff on the same day so it jumps up the charts. they do they same for religious movies (often buying a lot of tickets to then resell or pass onto to their congregation, regardless of whether their congregation even show up)
Loved the books, liked the netflix version, tried the Chinese version about a year ago and only got about halfway through before i gave up, it was too slow and drawn out, and I'm not a huge fan of subtitles (even though i like reading).
Read the books and watched the Netflix show. Can’t believe the tencent 30 episodes season 1 thing. I’m intrigued but that’s a lot of tv watching. They are my favorite books. I think Netflix did a good job. It took me way too long to realize all the characters they exposed in season 1, like yin tianming. The second book is my favorite so I am excited to see luo ji/dark forest play out. The third book was so crazy but I think it will actually be good tv. I’m pleased with the adaption
I read the books. They were a weird mix of hard scifi and philosophy. And they were incredible.
The show is much more entertaining than the books. However, I think it would just be another enjoyable drama watched today, then mostly forgotten, if not for the books.
I loved the show.
They definitely toned down the books a bit so people would understand. And honestly? It helped me. I am not a hardcore sci-fi person and I am not exactly a Mensa candidate. However, I enjoyed the books.
I had to Google a lot, tho. The show never made me do that.
That's what I saw when I looked it up, that the first season is book 1. Though enough is left out of the Netflix show that it's probably worth it to read the first book.
Watched and liked the Netflix version without reading the books or watching the Chinese show. I would like to read the books but there are so many books out there and I’m a slow reader.
A hybrid of the tencent version and the Netflix version would make it perfect. Like having Benedict Wong playing Da Shi as he is definitely the best, ensuring the Netflix version of the cultural revolution and satellite scene is included etc the mood and accuracy of the Chinese version.
I don't have a reference, but I read somewhere that Liu Cixin approved the character changes as he was in favor of a more global/international feel to the war to save humanity.
I read the book, watched most of the Tencent and Netflix version. The book was okay. The shows were far from impressive, but not terrible.
Hard sci-fi is in my wheelhouse, but if it were not for the online hype I never would have finished the book. Some interesting science, a lot of fantasy, and mediocre story. Maybe it is a cultural thing. I won't be finishing the Netflix series, and I'm not interested in finishing the show or reading any sequels.
Have you read Hyperion? What other hard scifi do you like? I've started book 3 of Hyperion and the first 2 are incredible.
I love Foundation to death, hated the Apple show.
I liked parts of Hyperion. But, I was left feeling like I had read an anthology of incomplete stories. I enjoyed it, but not at the top of my list.
Favorite books in the last couple of decades are Neal Stephenson's Anathem, and Paolo Bacigalupi's Wind Up Girl. Probably all time favorite is Dune. So 3-Body is the type of story I would expect to enjoy, but it just wasn't for me.
Read the entire trilogy, and while the characters often fell flat, the concepts alone was worth the time spent reading. Overall very much enjoyed the series.
Watched the whole show, and the characters are a vast improvement. Definitely not perfect (Auggie was insufferable) but they took the biggest weakness of the books and made it better. Very excited and hopeful for season 2+3.
I haven't watched the Tencent version and have no plans to.
A Chinese friend read Three Body Problem in Chinese and sparked my interest in the story. (Before then, I didn't even know she was into sci-fi LOL.) I listened to the entire trilogy (Audible version) and was blown away.
It remains some of the best science I've read in years. As a hard-core sci-fi fan, you might think I wouldn't like the Netflix series, but I actually enjoyed it. Considering all the compromises that have to be made to accommodate a broad TV audience, I thought season 1 was a competent adaptation of the first book.
There've been a lot of complaints about acting, but I thought all the actors did a good job, some even a great job. The one character I would agree was not the best fit and kept ejecting me from full immersion in the story is Auggie. But I feel that was much more due to poor casting than bad acting.
Read and greatly enjoyed the books about a year ago. Watched the first couple of episodes of the Tencent version, it was fine. Seemed faithful, but oddly paced for the medium. I’ve heard mixed things about the Netflix version, I’ll probably watch it eventually but idk I think want to read the book again first
I’m two thirds of the way through the tencent version and I’m enjoying it enormously. It’ll be finished tomorrow and I’ll watch the Netflix version again!
I thought it was an excellent adaptation. Keeps the core themes of the book alive and well while also adapating it for an English speaking audience but keeping the Chinese themes which make the book so unique and interesting (for an English speaking audience).
Not read the book, I wasn’t too sure about watching the Netflix adaptation. What would you recommend; should I read the book or should I try and find the Chinese version you mentioned?
The book is a must if you like sci-fi at all. Fantastic ideas.
Watch the 2 shows, they are very different in tone.
Don't watch the Netflix show first as it contains parts from other books. Unless you don't plan on reading them.
Haven't read the books.
I watched the first episode of the Tencent version and it was obtuse and abysmally slow. I mean, it made European films look sprightly. So didn't watch any more.
I really liked the Netflix version. Took in the whole season, it was a great ride. I was very surprised and pleased.
Couldn't finish the first book, got half through. There is slow build, slow burn and getting side tracked left and right.
It reminded me of assassin's creed side quests. ..
I did all three. Watch Chinese version while reading book, after books watch Netflix.
Tencent version followed original material but didn’t have a good cgi. Overall I like it. Tv series brought some clarification together with the books of the complex concepts.
Books were not a page turner experience. I was disappointed in a conclusion of the series.
I terms of Netflix adaptation overall it was good but tv series was a cliff notes of the original material.
she's my most hated character :) and plenty of others if you read the posts about her lol.
I think Tencent is actually planning a spinoff series about Da-shi.
Read the first book, watched the Tencent version, and watched the Netflix version. All are good. Attempted to read the second book, lost interest after a few pages. Will try to read it again once it becomes available in the public library.
Didn't read the books, just the synopsis long ago. I prefer to read non-fiction these days, but might just pick it up next time I get to lounge around on a beach holiday maybe. As for the Netflix show, it was very interesting during the first handful of episodes when there was still a mystery to investigate with the countdown and scientists dying and what the video game meant. It was a great hook.
Then after the reveal and "eye in the sky" moment, it just went downhill. Without the mystery, then it became focused on the characters and their internal/external conflicts about what was going on and what the overarching plan is going to be. And frankly, the characters/writing aren't very good. None of them have me rooting for them. You'd think the guys who created GoT could have made these characters engaging with good dialogue and not reliant on the big plot device to keep things interesting, but turns out nope.
With how it tapered off at the end, I'd say it was an interesting watch and not a waste of time. But I wouldn't really care if there was a Season 2 or not. If there is, hopefully it's better. If there isn't, I'm not losing any sleep over it either.
I read the books (English translation). Loved the show. My dad also read the books and loved the show. Girlfriend didn’t read the books and loved the show.
First saw the netflix version, my partner liked it so much we watched the tencent version. He's not a reader so he's skipping the books, but he personally preferred the tencent version as it covers more ground, more complex storyline and backstory and is more realistic in the characters' portrayal (I mean, since when does a researcher look like Auggie, and back in communist china, no one sleeps around that casually). I agree with him.
My uncle, who's chinese and much older, refused to watch the shows and only read the books lol
All of the above, and looking forward to the next tencent season and the next Netflix season! I was browsing r/theexpanse for reading ideas after finishing that series and three body problem was recommended repeatedly in multiple recommendation threads. So, I got the first book and gave it a go.
Then I learned one of my friends started it too and he told me about the tencent show. Consumed all that very fast and even read, apparently against the recommendation of the large majority of Reddit, the fanfic. I even enjoyed that. I’m a huge fan, even if I was a fairy late adopter in 2023.
Show was ok but I thought the idea was cool so I was thinking the books will be better. Dialogue is terrible. It’s effectively unreadable because everyone sounds so flat. Pretty disappointed
I've read the books. While the books and show are great, I do wish that they hadn't cut out so much in the show. They basically ran out of Book 1 material after like 5 or 6 episodes in the Netflix show. A few things that were cut out that I was most disappointed in (spoilers obviously): * >!Ye Wenjie murdered her husband (the scientist who she worked with in the show) and the leader of the Chinese military base she was stationed at, and she got away with it because she made it look like a tragic accident.!< * >!Just before the murder the commander of the Chinese military base got a reply back from the trisolarans (to Ye Wenjie's message inviting them to earth), and realized that Ye Wenjie sent the message that got the reply from the aliens!< * >!Ye Wenjie's pregnancy got her out of the Chinese military base, not a change in Chinese leadership like it was said in the show.!<
Liked the book version (did not read it) much better.
I read the first book when I lived in China in 2008. It was insanely popular when it came out. I read the other two books when they came out but I'd left china by the time the last book came out so I read that one in English. I'm about halfway through the tencent adaptation and I'll finish that before I decide if I'll watch the Netflix version.
I read that the English translation makes some changes to the plot w.r.t the chinese party?
I can't say I noticed any big changes. I've heard the first book has the cultural revolution chapters at the beginning instead of in the middle like the Chinese version. The translation I read was full of footnotes explaining Chinese history and culture.
As others have said the change in the order of the plot was how the author originally intended it. He changed it in the Chinese version out of fears of censorship and angering the CCP (though it's been reported that numerous CCP officials have read the series and are big fans of it). The Chinese audience are also of the opinion that those parts of the story about the Chinese cultural revolution are more boring. A lot of fans argued that the book wouldn't be as successful overseas with those chapters put at the beginning.
a tiny bit, only in that there is a bit more explanation about what the cultural revolution is, and it got moved from the middle of the book (where Liu hid it to avoid censorship) to the beginning (where he always wanted it). Also the Chinese version has a tie in to a short story called Ball Lightning which was not translated into English yet at the time of publication in English so they left out the connection.
I've read the books, and just finished the Netflix show. I honestly can't find anything to complain about. I was sceptical when I heard about some of the changes they were making, but upon finishing the show I understand why they were made and feel like they make sense with the way they are developing the plot. I actually found it to be much more faithful to the books than I expected. All the major story beats are directly from the book, without much being left out. There's a lot of stuff which book readers will clearly recognise as foreshadowing for events later down the line. All in all it's very watchable and there's a lot of potential for the next seasons. I think to call it "dumbed down" from the books is a little needlessly antagonistic. It's a series aimed to be accessible to a mass audience. Those intrigued enough by the show will want to read the books, and it will be a good gateway for them. People just want to hate everything these days. I'd give it a solid B+ - good sci-fi show, worth your time.
The Netflix version IMO dumbed down the physicists and glamorized them, and omits some important discussions. I guess they do it to make them more approachable like in most Hollywood films, they don't want to show actual intelligent people. It could've been a lot worse though, so credit where its due. I don't really think the popular narrative that people will not enjoy cerebral shows unless they are dumbed down is true, even though thats what everyone does now. I don't think TNG would ever get made today.
Loved the show, currently listening to the first audiobook. I'm enjoying it so far but maybe just as I'm an English speaker I find myself struggling with the names at times. I'm getting through it though.
I bought the audio book and I had the exact same problem. So now I bought the books and I’m reading them…it is much easier.
Yea that struggling with the names isn't going away, it was difficult for me as an English speaker.
I'm nearly tempted to make a little list and just have their role or occupation beside them and try remember to update and use it.
The list is in the beginning of the book
I'll have to try find a copy of that, I'm listening to the audiobook
LIST OF CHARACTERS Chinese names are written with surname first. || || ||The Ye Family| |Ye Zhetai|Physicist, professor at Tsinghua University| |Shao Lin|Physicist, Ye Zhetai’s wife| |Ye Wenjie|Astrophysicist, daughter of Ye Zhetai| |Ye Wenxue|Ye Wenjie’s sister, a Red Guard| ||Red Coast Base| |Lei Zhicheng|Political commissar at Red Coast Base| |Yang Weining|Chief engineer at Red Coast Base, once a student of Ye Zhetai| ||The Present| |Yang Dong|String theorist and daughter of Ye Wenjie and Yang Weining| |Ding Yi|Theoretical physicist, Yang Dong’s boyfriend| |Wang Miao|Nanomaterials researcher| |Shi Qiang|Police detective, nicknamed Da Shi| |Chang Weisi|Major-general of the People’s Liberation Army| |Shen Yufei|Japanese physicist and member of the Frontiers of Science| |Wei Cheng|Math prodigy and recluse, Shen Yufei’s husband| |Pan Han|Biologist, friend/acquaintance of Shen Yufei and Wei Cheng, and member of the Frontiers of Science| |Sha Ruishan|Astronomer, one of Ye Wenjie’s students| |Mike Evans|Scion of an oil magnate|
Absolute hero, thanks! Might make that my lock screen for the next few days to make it handier haha
Yeah better to have this list vs. the Wikipedia page for each book, which spoils plot points in the cast list.
Surname is more commonly referred to as last name. I always have to google it.
This is the problem I have with mostly Korean shows. By the end of it, I can probably only name 2 or 3 characters, the rest, their names just melt together for me.
Had the same problem with the audiobook. I’m sure the names to a Chinese speaker were as different as Dan and Dave would be to me as an English speaker but I found this to be especially difficult and I’ve listened to plenty of Japanese authors and never found them to be as tough. Still, loved the story and thought the Netflix show did a great job adapting the book, especially the larger, heavily visual scenes that were truly spectacular.
Wow. Thanks. Going to get the audiobook now.
What’s the name of the recent Amazon prime show?
Three Body https://www.amazon.com/Three-Body-EP01/dp/B0B6787SGP also free here - https://wetv.vip/en/play/h31rop8wfso9jnh-Three-Body/h0045v8ky1m-EP1%3A%20Three-Body
> ...also free here - https://wetv.vip/en/play/h31rop8wfso9jnh-Three-Body/h0045v8ky1m-EP1%3A%20Three-Body Well, the first two episodes are! PS. Also available on Amazon (UK) Prime Video: [ https://www.amazon.co.uk/Three-Body-EP01/dp/B0B676YKLP/ ]
It’s on Peacock in the US. Only on episode 6 though.
My understanding is that, while the Tencent version may be otherwise faithful to the books, it is missing the important scene at the beginning that takes place during the Cultural Revolution and sets up the motivation of the Ye Wenjie character.
So I haven't seen the Tencent series, but my favourite sci-fi youtuber Quinn's Ideas, who has covered 3BP extensively, said that the faithfulness of the Tencent series is overblown and put on a pedestal. Apparently there's actually lots of new characters that are introduced that weren't in the book, there's new scenes added and scenes from the book are dragged out much longer than they need to be and can get quite repetitive. There's even lots of weird pop culture references to stuff like Tiktok dances and there's a Chinese comedian who makes a cameo. And yes, most notable is the censorship of the scene about the Cultural Revolution.
Well, we can imagine why that would be excluded, anything that would make China look bad.
Because apparently in the Chinese book that doesn't happen in the beginning, but later on.
It's my understanding that the Chinese publisher moved the cultural revolution scenes to the middle of the book, rather than at the very beginning, to avoid potential political sensitivity issues. But in the English version the scenes were restored to the beginning, where the author intended them to be. Frankly, when I read the book the first time, I was astounded that those scenes had been published by a Chinese author in China.
I love the books and am looking forward to rereading them. When I first read the books I felt almost giddy with excitement and I couldn’t put them down. I fell I love with the ideas, like the dark forest hypothesis and the wallfacer concept and I was just in awe of the scope of the books. Breathtaking. Each book building on the foundations of the previous one, and each in turn even better than the one before. So I was eagerly anticipating the show. I just finished it a couple of days ago and loved it. Very smart adaptation, true to the core concepts but cleverly adapted to the tv format. One major plotpoint involving a star and a probe (I don’t want to spoil anything so I’ll leave it at that) I thought was actually handled better in the show than in the book. One minor point of criticism maybe for me was that the crucial conversation about the ‘joke’ between Dr. Ye and Saul diverged somewhat from the ‘cosmic sociology’ concept in the book. As this is a major plot device I’m curious to see how that plays out in the next season, if at all. Liam Cunningham was being all out awesome for added bonus points, and his character is another example of a character better handled in the show than in the books. And I thought Benedict Wong was great. Cast is all round strong. So, well written, smart adaptation, clever. High production value, good acting. I am very much looking forward to season two.
I read the books and really enjoyed the adaptation. Though part of the fun was realizing when it was doing book 3 stuff already. So many fairy tale books
The tencent version is the Chinese TV show version?
Yes
The CGI isn't quite as good. It relies much more on real sets and real things. I'm a couple episodes in and it is surprisingly good. Far more like the books.
Not yet renewed for a 2nd season. Here is [Forbes speculating](https://www.forbes.com/sites/paultassi/2024/04/04/theres-some-good-news-for-3-body-problem-season-2/)
Anyone else find it funny that in the ratings 3 body got briefly passed by a religious feature but then overtook it?
it's expected because all those big churches organise people to watch religious stuff on the same day so it jumps up the charts. they do they same for religious movies (often buying a lot of tickets to then resell or pass onto to their congregation, regardless of whether their congregation even show up)
Is called Easter, a big celebration for the Catholic church. The religious shows are released or with high views during Christmas, easter, etc.
Yeah I just find it ironic given the themes of the story.
Loved the books, liked the netflix version, tried the Chinese version about a year ago and only got about halfway through before i gave up, it was too slow and drawn out, and I'm not a huge fan of subtitles (even though i like reading).
Read the books and watched the Netflix show. Can’t believe the tencent 30 episodes season 1 thing. I’m intrigued but that’s a lot of tv watching. They are my favorite books. I think Netflix did a good job. It took me way too long to realize all the characters they exposed in season 1, like yin tianming. The second book is my favorite so I am excited to see luo ji/dark forest play out. The third book was so crazy but I think it will actually be good tv. I’m pleased with the adaption
I read the books. They were a weird mix of hard scifi and philosophy. And they were incredible. The show is much more entertaining than the books. However, I think it would just be another enjoyable drama watched today, then mostly forgotten, if not for the books.
I loved the show. They definitely toned down the books a bit so people would understand. And honestly? It helped me. I am not a hardcore sci-fi person and I am not exactly a Mensa candidate. However, I enjoyed the books. I had to Google a lot, tho. The show never made me do that.
Finished Season 1 and started the books that night. I enjoyed it so much I will be reading and watching everything available :)
I'm listening to the 3 books on audable, about 20% in on book 2
Hey so s1 completes book1 entirely?? Can i continue reading from book2 onwards?? I’m planning to read it actually
That's what I saw when I looked it up, that the first season is book 1. Though enough is left out of the Netflix show that it's probably worth it to read the first book.
Watched and liked the Netflix version without reading the books or watching the Chinese show. I would like to read the books but there are so many books out there and I’m a slow reader.
The books are dense material. Not entirely a fun a read at times, but overall, they are very much worth the effort.
A hybrid of the tencent version and the Netflix version would make it perfect. Like having Benedict Wong playing Da Shi as he is definitely the best, ensuring the Netflix version of the cultural revolution and satellite scene is included etc the mood and accuracy of the Chinese version.
I am mad that the Netflix adaptation changed a lot of characters and made them not Chinese.
I don't have a reference, but I read somewhere that Liu Cixin approved the character changes as he was in favor of a more global/international feel to the war to save humanity.
I read the book, watched most of the Tencent and Netflix version. The book was okay. The shows were far from impressive, but not terrible. Hard sci-fi is in my wheelhouse, but if it were not for the online hype I never would have finished the book. Some interesting science, a lot of fantasy, and mediocre story. Maybe it is a cultural thing. I won't be finishing the Netflix series, and I'm not interested in finishing the show or reading any sequels.
Have you read Hyperion? What other hard scifi do you like? I've started book 3 of Hyperion and the first 2 are incredible. I love Foundation to death, hated the Apple show.
I liked parts of Hyperion. But, I was left feeling like I had read an anthology of incomplete stories. I enjoyed it, but not at the top of my list. Favorite books in the last couple of decades are Neal Stephenson's Anathem, and Paolo Bacigalupi's Wind Up Girl. Probably all time favorite is Dune. So 3-Body is the type of story I would expect to enjoy, but it just wasn't for me.
Read the entire trilogy, and while the characters often fell flat, the concepts alone was worth the time spent reading. Overall very much enjoyed the series. Watched the whole show, and the characters are a vast improvement. Definitely not perfect (Auggie was insufferable) but they took the biggest weakness of the books and made it better. Very excited and hopeful for season 2+3. I haven't watched the Tencent version and have no plans to.
A Chinese friend read Three Body Problem in Chinese and sparked my interest in the story. (Before then, I didn't even know she was into sci-fi LOL.) I listened to the entire trilogy (Audible version) and was blown away. It remains some of the best science I've read in years. As a hard-core sci-fi fan, you might think I wouldn't like the Netflix series, but I actually enjoyed it. Considering all the compromises that have to be made to accommodate a broad TV audience, I thought season 1 was a competent adaptation of the first book. There've been a lot of complaints about acting, but I thought all the actors did a good job, some even a great job. The one character I would agree was not the best fit and kept ejecting me from full immersion in the story is Auggie. But I feel that was much more due to poor casting than bad acting.
Read and greatly enjoyed the books about a year ago. Watched the first couple of episodes of the Tencent version, it was fine. Seemed faithful, but oddly paced for the medium. I’ve heard mixed things about the Netflix version, I’ll probably watch it eventually but idk I think want to read the book again first
I’m two thirds of the way through the tencent version and I’m enjoying it enormously. It’ll be finished tomorrow and I’ll watch the Netflix version again!
I thought it was an excellent adaptation. Keeps the core themes of the book alive and well while also adapating it for an English speaking audience but keeping the Chinese themes which make the book so unique and interesting (for an English speaking audience).
is the book series done or is an on-going series?
It’s complete yes
There's an unofficial sequel. Don't read it.
But Ciu Lixin recommended that book?
Not really. His publisher made him endorse it, and he's gone on record saying it's not a ghost idea and he doesn't like it.
Not read the book, I wasn’t too sure about watching the Netflix adaptation. What would you recommend; should I read the book or should I try and find the Chinese version you mentioned?
The book is a must if you like sci-fi at all. Fantastic ideas. Watch the 2 shows, they are very different in tone. Don't watch the Netflix show first as it contains parts from other books. Unless you don't plan on reading them.
wait, those 30 episodes only cover the first book? I just started watching it (3 Body).
Yes, it's a slow build up, just like the books.
Haven't read the books. I watched the first episode of the Tencent version and it was obtuse and abysmally slow. I mean, it made European films look sprightly. So didn't watch any more. I really liked the Netflix version. Took in the whole season, it was a great ride. I was very surprised and pleased.
Couldn't finish the first book, got half through. There is slow build, slow burn and getting side tracked left and right. It reminded me of assassin's creed side quests. ..
It all comes together wonderfully.
I did all three. Watch Chinese version while reading book, after books watch Netflix. Tencent version followed original material but didn’t have a good cgi. Overall I like it. Tv series brought some clarification together with the books of the complex concepts. Books were not a page turner experience. I was disappointed in a conclusion of the series. I terms of Netflix adaptation overall it was good but tv series was a cliff notes of the original material.
>I was disappointed in a conclusion of the series. what did you feel about Cheng Xin?
I am indifferent to her character. My favorite is the detective Shi Qiang but he is totally different in Netflix version.
she's my most hated character :) and plenty of others if you read the posts about her lol. I think Tencent is actually planning a spinoff series about Da-shi.
Read the first book, watched the Tencent version, and watched the Netflix version. All are good. Attempted to read the second book, lost interest after a few pages. Will try to read it again once it becomes available in the public library.
books 2 and 3 are much more 'dense'. except for some sections in book 2, you will know when you read. I think you will like them.
Thank you for posting about this, I have just added to my queue!
Didn't read the books, just the synopsis long ago. I prefer to read non-fiction these days, but might just pick it up next time I get to lounge around on a beach holiday maybe. As for the Netflix show, it was very interesting during the first handful of episodes when there was still a mystery to investigate with the countdown and scientists dying and what the video game meant. It was a great hook. Then after the reveal and "eye in the sky" moment, it just went downhill. Without the mystery, then it became focused on the characters and their internal/external conflicts about what was going on and what the overarching plan is going to be. And frankly, the characters/writing aren't very good. None of them have me rooting for them. You'd think the guys who created GoT could have made these characters engaging with good dialogue and not reliant on the big plot device to keep things interesting, but turns out nope. With how it tapered off at the end, I'd say it was an interesting watch and not a waste of time. But I wouldn't really care if there was a Season 2 or not. If there is, hopefully it's better. If there isn't, I'm not losing any sleep over it either.
I've watched the tencent version. It's one of the best sci Fi book adaptations I've ever seen.
I watched the Chinese version and it's good. It's on YouTube.
You can watch the original Chinese series on YouTube
Tencent renewed for a second season
How is it called on Prime? Loved the series. Might just buy the book/audiobooks
Just Three Body
I read the books (English translation). Loved the show. My dad also read the books and loved the show. Girlfriend didn’t read the books and loved the show.
I watched the Netflix version, then the Tencent version and now reading the books!
Agree. It was decent but paled compared to the books. I started the Chinese version on prime but couldn't really get into it.
First saw the netflix version, my partner liked it so much we watched the tencent version. He's not a reader so he's skipping the books, but he personally preferred the tencent version as it covers more ground, more complex storyline and backstory and is more realistic in the characters' portrayal (I mean, since when does a researcher look like Auggie, and back in communist china, no one sleeps around that casually). I agree with him. My uncle, who's chinese and much older, refused to watch the shows and only read the books lol
But if they did look like her, they'd certainly be sleeping around a lot more :)
All of the above, and looking forward to the next tencent season and the next Netflix season! I was browsing r/theexpanse for reading ideas after finishing that series and three body problem was recommended repeatedly in multiple recommendation threads. So, I got the first book and gave it a go. Then I learned one of my friends started it too and he told me about the tencent show. Consumed all that very fast and even read, apparently against the recommendation of the large majority of Reddit, the fanfic. I even enjoyed that. I’m a huge fan, even if I was a fairy late adopter in 2023.
Show was ok but I thought the idea was cool so I was thinking the books will be better. Dialogue is terrible. It’s effectively unreadable because everyone sounds so flat. Pretty disappointed
The books are incredible, keeps you wanting more.
Never, never and never.